Hey, it’s Robbie. Just a quick heads-up before the TpT sale ends today. If you were thinking about picking up my Job Interviews + Business Meetings bundle, you can still get it for less than usual while the sale is live. These are the kinds of lessons you’re glad to have ready when a student tells you they have an interview coming up, or says, “I need to speak more in meetings at work.” The Job Interview lesson helps learners understand what interviewers are looking for, organise stronger...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. Yesterday I shared one of the biggest changes I made to the way I plan lessons: I stopped building lessons around vague goals like “improve your speaking” and started building them around real situations learners needed to handle at work. Over the last few weeks, I’ve used that same idea to give my Job Interviews and Business Meetings lessons a major update. So today, I thought I’d show you some of the thinking behind the changes. The Job Interview Lesson One of the tricky...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. I hope you’re having a great summer. We’ve been having an unusually hot one here in Dublin. And speaking of things heating up… Actually, no. I have absolutely no idea how to segue from the weather into Business English. (Yes, my segues still need some work.) Anyway… When I first started teaching English online in 2020, I spent far too much time planning lessons. I’d create something for one student, teach it once, and then start almost from scratch for the next one. After a...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Hey it's Robbie. I've just released two brand-new Business English lessons that I thought you might enjoy. Business Meetings Help learners contribute more confidently in meetings using practical, natural English they can use immediately at work. They’ll practise joining discussions, agreeing and disagreeing politely, asking for clarification and leading parts of a meeting through realistic workplace scenarios. Job Interview Preparation Rather than memorising the “perfect” answer, learners use...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. Controversy.Countries at odds.Drama.Questionable fashion choices. That can only mean one thing... Eurovision is back. And to honour this Saturday’s Grand Final (aka one of the most-watched annual TV events in Europe), I wanted to share a free lesson you can use with your ESL learners. Here’s how it works: 1) Lead In: We start with a quick visual icebreaker. Students look at three unusual images and try to guess what connects them. What could a talking turkey, a bearded drag...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, it's Robbie Today is Star Wars Day. Now I don’t know if you like Star Wars or not. But me? I love it. I won’t go full Jedi on you… but I do want to share 2 free space-themed ESL lessons you can use this week. Both are ready to teach: Distance: A Universal Perspective (B1–B2 | 60 mins) A simple lesson that gets students thinking about space, big numbers, and just how far things really are. A great way to practise using big numbers in English, and usually leads to some good discussions....
5 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. Quite a few of you downloaded the Business English lesson I shared last week. I hope it’s useful. That lesson came from something I didn’t have for a long time: A curriculum. For years, I was teaching solid lessons… Each class was fine.But nothing connected. And that made everything harder. Pricing.Retention.Confidence. It wasn’t until I structured my lessons into a clear pathway that things changed. Prep got easier.Students stayed longer.Raising rates felt justified. That’s...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Hey it's Robbie. When I first started teaching Business English privately, I thought I had to justify the higher fee somehow. So I did what most of us do. I added more. More vocabulary.More slides.More content. If they were paying more, they should get more… right? Turns out, not really. Most of my professional clients didn’t need more information.Most of that was already available online. It was clarity they were paying for. What they needed was filtration. They needed someone to say: You...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. If you liked the PowerPoint tutorial I shared a few days ago, you’ll dig today’s email. Today’s tip is a simple transition technique I rarely see teachers use… but when done well, it makes your slides feel far more alive. Especially during grammar presentations. Animations are something I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with. Slightly niche hobby, I know. But judging by the replies last time, I’m not alone. Here’s how this one looks in action: Instead of jumping abruptly...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, it’s Robbie. If we’ve been connected for a while, you probably know I enjoy using PowerPoint to build teaching materials. One of the reasons is pretty simple. It lets you control the pace,which can be especially useful during corrections. I used to reveal all the answers at once. And every time I did, the same thing happened. Students skipped ahead or checked out mentally. Once I started revealing answers one by one, they stayed with me. They listened and stopped rushing to the end. It’s...
7 months ago • 1 min read